Mysuru’s shrinking air connectivity not a reflection of passenger traffic potential, says Mysuru Airport Director
The Hindu
Mysuru airport reduced to 2 cities; winter schedule unchanged; Goa flight withdrawn; airport expansion on course; potential for more flights; bulk of passengers use Hyderabad; investments & industries on rise; expansion to improve connectivity.
Air connectivity to and from Mysuru has been reduced to just two cities since the last two months and even the winter schedule of the flights valid from October 29, 2023 to March 30, 2024 announced by the Director General of Civil Aviation, has not given an additional slot to the city.
While Hyderabad and Chennai continue to be connected to Mysuru, the flight to Goa which used to fly with near-full passenger occupancy has also been withdrawn much to the chagrin of the local people.
While questions have been raised about the wisdom of airport expansion under such a scenario, the Mysuru Airport Director J.R. Anoop said that withdrawal of services have nothing to do with passenger traffic. He said the passenger traffic potential of Mysuru is proven across different sectors and there is demand for more.
‘’The issue is rejigging and redeployment of ATR aircrafts by the flight operators and these short-haul carriers with a maximum capacity of 72 passengers are not economical to operate compared to A320 etc. But the Mysuru airport cannot handle aircrafts like A320 at this juncture due to short runway of 1,740 metres and hence, expansion of the airport and the runway to 2,450 metres which is being taken up will change the scenario in future,’’ he added.
Besides, the flight to Goa is likely to be restored sometime in December as Alliance Air has sought a slot and the DGCA has given clearance. It is now up to the aircraft operators to resume the services, Mr. Anoop added.
Mysuru airport handles four flights a day — both inbound and outbound — on 3 days a week and they connect to Chennai and Hyderabad. On the remaining four days, the Mysuru airport handles 6 flights – both inbound and outbound – and it includes two flights to Hyderabad and one flight to Chennai.
The bulk of the passengers use Hyderabad for their onward connectivity to Delhi, Kolkata or other places for onward journey. Apart from convenience of connectivity from Hyderabad, some of the regular fliers prefer to avoid the tedious journey of driving to Bengaluru, said Mr. Anup.
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